As technology allows us to advance in the field of computer-aided surgery, such systems are becoming more specialized and refined. The advances made for orthopedic surgery are particularly impressive. These systems allow surgeons to prepare for surgery by viewing 3D models of patients' anatomy that were reconstructed using pre-operative images such as scans and x-rays. Virtual planning markers can be inserted into three-dimensional images at any sites of interest and the ideal implant or prosthesis can be designed for a specific patient by constructing virtual implant models and simulating the results with the reconstructed model.
Furthermore, during surgery, many surgical instruments are now tracked and can be displayed on the reconstructed 3D models to provide surgeons with a reference as to where they are within a patient's body. This is a precious asset in surgeries that involve delicate procedures that allow the surgeon very little room to maneuver. Unfortunately, this feature can only be taken advantage of when a 3D reconstruction of the patient's structure has been made. This is done pre-operatively using various imaging technologies and can become quite time-consuming for a surgeon.
However, it is desirable to cut down the pre-operative time a surgeon must spend to prepare a surgery. It is also desirable to develop an application that can use other media than Computer-Tomographic (CT) scans, when these are not available.
Moreover, since it is advantageous to provide a surgeon with visual confirmation of the tasks he is performing during the surgery, there is a need to develop a CT-less intra-operative bone reconstruction system.